JACQUIE WYATT: Rip-tide

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

I was sea swimming when something bruised my leg. I didn’t look down because anything was possible. Rip-tide, shark, dolphin, fish, fingers of seaweed fisting something, driftwood and on and on. My mind could make it anything I thought.

Juggling nightmares and magic, I brushed it off and swam on.

Having escaped from marketing, Jacquie Wyatt writes poetry, flash fiction and novels. She was second in the Write Invite league in 2014 and a Flash Flood author 2012. Two of her poems have just been accepted by DawnTreader.

MARGARET McGOVERNE: New Beginnings

Amusing, Submissions, ,

She threw me out; she didn’t like my tastes.

Flung on the rubbish heap, I was enveloped in a dark depression. I felt dead. Earth to earth.

Turning things over, I spread myself around. I met someone new, with potential. We sowed the seed.

We’re expecting a tomato this spring.

Margaret has a garden in Buckinghamshire, UK. She is currently writing
her first full length novel, while being distracted by short stories, flash fiction and her blog about all things writing.

ASHLEY NAFTULE: The Finishing Touch

Amusing, Submissions, Touching, , , ,

He loved nothing more than to embarrass her.

Her face, blushing bright and scarlet, belonged in a museum: mortified among the masterpieces.

That’s why he told the security guard in the Contemporary Art gallery, when he was caught kissing his lover inside the dark art installation: “I’m painting my masterpiece.”

Ashley Naftule is a writer/performer living in Phoenix, AZ. He bears an uncanny resemblance to country singer Vince Gill.

LAWRENCE FRANK: Dog Whisperer

Submissions, ,

Buddy suspected the slumbering Sadie wouldn’t appreciate playful whispers. But he often traveled the trail of wanton disobedience.

Quivering in anticipation, he cautiously nuzzled her velvety ear. It twitched violently, slapping her assailant across the face.

Let sleeping dogs lie, they silently agreed, flicking their tails and closing their eyes.

By day, Lawrence Frank sits in a psychotherapist’s chair, inhaling life’s darkest moments. In the silence of night, he locks the door, switches seats, and exhales to the page.

ROBINSON TERRY: A Winner

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Twenty feet away.

He goes faster and faster.

They’re catching up.

Ten feet away.

He can hear them behind him.

Five feet. Four, three…

It’s over! He’s won!

The blue ribbon wraps around his torso as he wheels toward his wife. Who says you need legs to win a race?

Rob works with individuals who suffer from physical disabilities. They inspired him to write this piece.

BOB THURBER: The Week The Circus Came To Town

Amusing, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

Sunday I spotted an elephant destroying my cabbage garden so I shot the monster dead. Moments later, six clowns in midget cars bumped onto my lawn. They were armed with rainbow parasols.

“I’ve had this dream,” my wife said.

I cocked my rifle. “How’s it end?”

“Not good,” she said.

Over the years Bob Thurber’s work has received a long list of awards and prizes. His most recent book is a collection of brief stories titled “Nothing But Trouble”. Visit BobThurber.net.

JOCELYN MOORE: Payback Portrait

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

“Just one more, baby,” he pleaded. “I love how you look with your hair down.”

She was uneasy when her husband took revealing photographs of her vulnerability.

Still, deeply in love, she let him pose her body and snap away.

When their marriage disintegrated, he possessed the picture-perfect revenge tool.

Jocelyn Moore is a female western writer, living in a small, rural community, Pinedale, Wyoming (population 2,000). Though she mostly writes grants for non-profit organizations, she also writes short stories and poetry on nature, interactions between people, animals, and unrequited love. Jocelyn is the webmaster for the Writing Women of Zurich website.

KAREN WAYGOOD: Squirrels Day

Amusing, Submissions, ,

Marvy the Mohair Squirrel asked me if yesterday was Squirrels Day. I explained it was Girls Day, which sounds a lot like Squirrels Day.

Marvy looked at me all sad-like, so I said we could create a Squirrels Day for Monkey Town’s squirrel friends.

Marvy said that would be fine.

Karen Waygood is a ruthless up-cycler, standup paddleboarder and former broadcast journalist. She grew up in Hawaii and now lives near Atlanta, Georgia.

VIRGINIO ROTA: A Day to Forget

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , ,

I woke up at seven
My face already shaven
For breakfast coffee or tea
Ready to be me

Walking down the street
Nobody to meet
Doubtful like Hamlet
Hands in my pockets

How to be alone
Curiously I want to know
Now I’m getting home
To finish this sad show.

Virginio is an Italian student of English language. He likes writing stories in English and sometimes playing with rhymes.